Great holiday gift ideas for your home's handyperson

Dear readers: This is the time of year when I publish a list of my favorite holiday gifts as suggestions to those of you who are agonizing over what to get your favorite family members and friends.

For the shop and the garden, there is now a plethora of cordless tools that make work so much easier; no more cords to connect.

I have several Skil cordless tools that I find very helpful. One kit came with a jigsaw, a drill/driver, an orbital sander that looks like a small iron with a pointed end and makes it so easy to get in tight corners, and a powerful light. Another kit came with a circular saw and a reciprocating saw, which I used to cut down a 3-inch-thick bush in seconds, far from any power source.

I also have two cordless Black & Decker impact drivers. One is the 8-volt model BDCS801. It is an impressive tool for what B&D calls "light duty." I have used mine a lot since getting it and have been very impressed with the length of the charge. For heavier duty, and ideal in the DIY's shop, I have used Black & Decker's 20-volt Lithium Impact Driver. Impact drivers are not drills, however, so you also need one of those. Most home shops already have one, but if it is corded, consider buying a battery-operated one. The convenience is worth the price. Every tool manufacturer has a whole gamut of cordless tools.

Builders and contractors purchase DeWalt, Makita and other brands of industrial tools at considerably higher prices, but the Black & Decker and Skil lines I have used and mentioned are very adequate for home shops.

And here is a tool I found quite handy: The Porter-Cable corded 7.5 Amp 1/2-Inch Drive Impact Wrench. Impact wrenches are broadly used in industry - automotive shops, heavy equipment maintenance and major construction. They are mostly powered by compressed air, but relatively few 120-volt models are in use in home shops and smaller construction firms.

Instead of struggling with hand wrenches to rotate automobile tires, remove a lawn mower blade for sharpening or drive hexhead lag screws in building decks' framework and railings, an impact wrench not only makes the job easier, but it ensures that the nuts or bolts are properly tightened when reinstalling the car wheels or lawn mower blade. No one wants a loose wheel nut on a car, as I once experienced, or a flying lawn mower blade.

The Porter-Cable model PCE210 Impact Wrench with a 1/2-inch drive is well worth having in any DIY shop. Porter-Cable also makes a 1/4-inch drive model.

For the garden, I found a 20-volt battery-operated Black & Decker leaf blower and weed whacker so convenient and easy to use. Often, we need only a small cleanup, and it's a hassle to cart a corded tool, plug it in and put it back when done.

Consider the added convenience of sticking with the same brand; you'll have the great advantage of interchangeable batteries, so, with several batteries, you'll never run out of power.

Three other valuable additions to your tool collection are the Dremel and Rotozip tools, as well as the RotoSaw, which makes it easy to cut a variety of materials. Their accessories are also helpful and their versatility around the shop is considerable.

Power washers come in gas-powered or electric. Gas-powered models are generally more powerful than electric ones, but the latter cost less and may be sufficient for most jobs. However, they are tied to a cord - somewhat inconvenient. They are great for cleaning decks and concrete driveways, but be careful using a power washer on asphalt, as it may damage the surface. A power washer should not be used to clean roofing shingles.

Also helpful is the Handy Camel Bag Clip. It clamps at the top of fertilizer, birdseed and any other heavy bags to make it easier to carry them. After the bag is open, the clip can be set on a corner while you lift the bag by the bottom to pour out its contents. It makes these two steps so much easier. You can see how the clip works on the manufacturer's website at www.thehandycamel.com.

Moving inside the house, every household with oval pot metal valve handles found under sinks, lavatories and toilet bowls needs the Gordon Wrench. This small plastic wrench, offered in two sizes, is essential to free these often frozen and fragile valves. Trying to free these valves in an emergency with regular wrenches or channel locks often results in breaking them. The Gordon Wrench prevents this from happening. You can see what it looks like and buy it online at www.gordonwrench.com. It can be hung out of the way on a nail under the sink or vanity cabinet where it belongs.

Open It! is a multi-tool developed by women that makes it easy to open the cellophane tape on packages with its retractable utility knife and to cut hard plastic packaging with its rugged jaws. It is also handy to open battery compartments on electronics with its very small Phillips screwdriver, among other uses. You can buy it at Amazon; simply type "OpenIt" in the search box.

Q. Some time ago, I bought a cute little house in the mountains of Vermont's Mad River Valley. I love it and enjoy a beautiful view of the mountains.

I have one problem that really bugs me. I love walking barefoot. The first floor of my house consists of a living room with big beams and wide pine boards. The wood floor is stained a dark walnut. But the kitchen has a quarry tile floor that is always so cold.

I had someone insulate the floor joists from the basement, but it made no difference. What can you suggest to solve this annoyance?

A. The reason the kitchen quarry tile floor feels colder than the wood floor is that the tiles are very dense, as opposed to the cellular composition of wood.

Our skin is full of nerve receptors, including the bottoms of our feet. More of our feet's receptors will be in contact with a dense surface than they will on a cellular surface.

I am sure that you have noticed that your feet feel even warmer on carpeting than on wood for the same reason, as even fewer receptors are involved.

Another example I can give you is the difference we feel when sleeping on flannel sheets versus regular cotton sheets, especially if you sleep in the buff.

Your simplest choices are to wear slippers, hospital-style slip-proof socks or have the quarry tiles covered with carpeting.

Q. I enjoy routinely reading your column in the Daily Herald. My question relates to Pella bow windows with stained wood interior, aluminum exterior. Our windows were installed 11 years ago and I noticed the last couple of winters that when condensation occurs and water runs down the edges, it will absorb into the wood on the bottom edge, as the rubberlike seal on the interior no longer seals the glass to the wood frame. The glass portion is approximately five feet tall and can create a significant potential wood-rotting problem. I typically set the humidistat at 30 percent and still have the problem, and turn it down on extremely cold days.

I contacted Pella, but received no help. I am thinking of removing the rubber seal on the bottom and replacing it with GE silicone caulk. Is this the best solution?

A. This has been a serious problem with Pella windows and doors, and you are not the first one who has had a difficult time dealing with the company.

A number of years ago, I was involved in a few complaints in which rain was washing down the glass behind the exterior aluminum casing, because the seal was inadequate. The wood inner core rotted away over time. In every one of these cases, my clients had to fight, with my help, to get Pella to take responsibility for the problem.

If you are successful at removing the rubber gasket, I suggest that you use a small artist's brush or eyedropper to insert varnish into the space to seal the wood. Then make sure that the glass where you removed the gasket is thoroughly clean - a difficult task in such a confined space.

Instead of using silicone caulk, which is likely to mildew over time, a better choice is a polyurethane sealant.

But the best solution is to get as many tubes of latex glazing compound as you will need and squeeze the compound to fill the space left by the removal of the rubber gasket. Tool it to form a slight cove. Let the glazing compound cure according to the instructions on the tube.

Lastly, apply a coat of stain slightly bridging over the glazing compound onto the glass and the wood bottom rail. You may want to stain the entire bottom rail while you are at it.

Q. I have a fan in my living room that has a cathedral ceiling and is open to the whole second floor. Does this change the usual advice? What should the direction of the fan be for winter vs. summer?

A. A ceiling fan should direct the air upward in the winter. The air will flow along the ceiling before descending along the walls, and rising again from the center of the room.

In the summer, in most conditions, the fan should be set to direct the air downward. The "draft" it creates cools the occupants.

There are exceptions. For instance, in whole-house air conditioning, it is best to direct the air upward to move stratified warm air that collects at the ceiling down along the walls and mix it with colder air for more even comfort.

• Henri de Marne was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. His book, "About the House," is available at www.upperaccess.com. His website is www.henridemarne.com. Email questions to henridemarne@gmavt.net, or mail First Aid for the Ailing House, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

© 2015, United Feature Syndicate Inc.